In a deserted area, Li Jizhou released Guagua.
As soon as they reached the mine entrance, Guagua already showed signs of restlessness, but with so many big shots around, it didn't react.
At this moment, Guagua's reaction was even stronger.
"Have you been here before?"
"Guagua~"
Receiving a positive answer, Li Jizhou nodded silently.
Four years ago, Guagua returned alone,
he thought that Senior Xu might have fallen within the mine.
However, the situation at the Thunder Spirit Crystal Ore back then was complicated, and any death was possible.
"See if you can tunnel through the ground!"
"Gua~" Guagua shook its head.
"Just as I thought!" With no reports of spirit beasts entering the mine in years, he already had his suspicions.
Indeed, there was a restriction in the mine tunnel, preventing even the ability to tunnel through.
"Did you and Senior Xu come here last time?"
"Gua~" Guagua nodded.
"How did Senior Xu die?"
"Guagua~" Guagua shook its head vigorously.
"Where did you go last time?"
"Guagua gua~" Guagua hugged its head with both paws, shaking even more fiercely.
Li Jizhou gave it a blank look, leaving it to its own devices, then put it back into the Spirit Pet Bag.
Looking over the interconnected mine tunnels, Li Jizhou took out a Mid-Level Upper Grade Restriction Talisman and activated it on the spot, deciding to start digging right where he stood.
After digging hundreds of holes, he found nothing.
"Seems like promising illusions is a common trick of those in power!"
In recent years, rumors had been rampant outside, widely promoting how abundant and easy to dig the Thunder Spirit Crystal was, with countless small cultivators supposedly exchanging their finds for enough resources to establish a Foundation.
There were even many small cultivators who personally testified.
"Truly, there's nothing new under the sun!"
The mine walls were as hard as iron and stone, and even though Li Jizhou was at the late stage of Qi Cultivation Third Level, with the robust and endless Eternal Spring Magical Power that allowed quick recovery, after hundreds of digs, he was somewhat out of breath.
"Ridiculous, having reincarnated twice and with all my knowledge from my previous life on Earth, I somehow got fooled by capitalists into becoming a workhorse!"
Complaints aside, this couldn't be helped; seeking Melted Spirit Sand this way was the safest method.
Fortunately, he wasn't tricked into digging for Thunder Spirit Crystals.
"Dong dong dong~" he gritted his teeth and continued digging.
Unknowingly, he had dug deep into this forked path.
He took another shovel.
"Clang~"
A melodious bell sound reverberated instantly in Li Jizhou's mind.
His Sea of Consciousness wavered,
and he didn't have time to react, instinctively closing his eyes.
Upon reopening, a cacophony of screams rang in his ears.
"Which little thief dares to plot against me, my Thunder Spirit Crystals!"
"Where is this?"
"Wasn't I just mining? How did I suddenly get here?"
...
Li Jizhou opened his eyes and found himself standing on a vast and grand White Jade Square.
Around him were small cultivators in the Early Stage of Qi Cultivation, and judging by the context, most seemed to have been mining.
His heart tightened suddenly; he instinctively stepped back two paces, blending into the crowd.
Looking up again,
he saw in the center of the magnificent square a ten-foot-tall White Jade Stele standing majestically, inscribed with four large characters: Thunder Flame Saint Sect!
"Thunder Flame Sect!!!"
"Could this be the Thunder Flame Sect, destroyed by Daoist Venerable Mo Li single-handedly eight hundred years ago?"
"What's happening? Why did we suddenly end up here just as we were mining?"
The others also gradually awakened, looking around, ultimately focusing on that central White Jade Stele in alarm.
"Could it be... this is the underground treasury of the Thunder Flame Sect?" someone exclaimed in sudden delight.
"No, look, the sky here is vast, clearly not underground! Moreover, this is evidently the sect's square."
"Could it be a space treasure?"
"Did the Thunder Flame Sect not really perish eight hundred years ago, but was pulled into this space by a mighty treasure?"
...
Li Jizhou hid in the middle of the crowd, trying to minimize his presence, silently counting the number of people—exactly one hundred!
Almost everyone showed shock and unfamiliarity, indicating they all arrived in this space just like him.
After a brief shock, more faces became excited.
"If the entire Thunder Flame Sect is here, then all the treasures from eight hundred years ago must also be here!"
"The Thunder Flame Sect holds the chance for a Nascent Soul!"
"Fate descends from the heavens, hope for the immortal path is nigh!"
In an instant, many couldn't wait to rush toward the imposing palaces ahead of the square.
"Bang bang bang!"
But then, Li Jizhou saw everyone who leapt off colliding with an invisible barrier at the edge of the square, crashing heavily onto the ground.
"Ah! There's a barrier here, the pain is killing me!"
"An array barrier, at least Tier Three, otherwise, how could we have no sensation of hitting it? Damn it!"
"I chipped my tooth!"
Cries of pain and curses immediately replaced the earlier excited shouts.
Aside from Li Jizhou, a few others hadn't moved, showing more cautiousness.
At this moment, their expressions grew increasingly grave.
With an array barrier above Tier Three, it's truly despairing for them, a group of small fry in the Early Stage of Qi Cultivation!
They didn't even have the courage to shake the heavens.
"Fellow Daoists, what do you think?" A young man beside Li Jizhou, who had been observing carefully, looked solemnly at the others who, like him, hadn't recklessly moved.
"With my shallow experience, I can't even discern if this is an illusion!" an older cultivator sighed, shaking his head, then simply sat cross-legged on the ground.
"It's not an illusion!" Someone not far away raised a left hand with a coagulated wound, their right hand holding a trident-like Magical Artifact.
"My Magical Artifact specializes in countering illusions, even a Tier Three Illusion Array. If the artifact penetrates the flesh, it will surely detect any abnormalities!"
"Could it truly be a small constructed world by some great power?"
"Will it trap us here forever?" The young man who first spoke had a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl beside him, who asked with wide eyes.
Had the young man not held her back, she would have likely crashed hard already.
"Yutong." The young man turned back, frowning at her; she hurriedly covered her mouth to stay silent.
"We can only wait and see!" The young man surveyed the others, finding no inclination to share, then sighed and sat cross-legged himself.
Soon, the entire square was divided distinctly.
Most were trying to probe the edge of the array barrier, fully focused on seeking the great opportunity.
A minority of about twenty, like Li Jizhou, hadn't moved an inch, choosing to wait and see.
Time passed until some of those sitting still were getting impatient.
Suddenly, a soft laugh came from the White Jade Stele.
"Yo ho~ not bad this year, twenty-six little ones can actually maintain unity, staying calm and focused. Seems my Thunder Flame Sect is certain to gain more immortal sprouts this year!"
The voice was soft and gentle, yet it clearly reached everyone's minds.
Everyone instantly looked in that direction.
They saw, beneath the White Jade Stele earlier examined countless times and found absolutely mundane, a man clad in white robes adorned with thunder patterns, a golden-purple lightning symbol embroidered on his chest, standing there at some unknown moment.
The man's long hair was casually tied behind him, with sword eyebrows and starry eyes, wearing a playful smile on his face, giving a sense of freedom and ease.
Beside him floated a three-foot-long sword, its entire body black, with lightning occasionally crackling around it, emitting sizzling sounds.
Seeing this person, Li Jizhou took a deep breath, holding his breath with his heart tightening abruptly.
With his knowledge and Divine Soul perception, he couldn't discern at all how high the other's cultivation was.
This meant the other's Divine Soul strength far exceeded his, at least at the late stage of Core Formation.
Even more terrifying, the flying sword beside him contained an Artifact Spirit aura, at least at the Spirit Treasure Level!
Such a person could easily end Li Jizhou countless times with a single breath!